11 months ago

@jrbernardi I recall hearing somewhere that Hugh Beaumont perhaps wasn't the most enjoyable person to be around in real life, but are you talking about his character in the show in this comment? If so, make sure to give your Dad a huge hug and something expensive for Fathers' Day this year—some of us would've killed to have been raised by this "asshole" instead of our real fathers.<br /> <br /> I'm not a father myself so I can only speculate, but it strikes me as a very demanding task that most perform to mediocrity and still many more are (I'll even go so far as to say, objectively) abject failures at. What I always admired about Ward was that even when "shit hit the fan" (or as close as they got to that for a 50's family show), he always kept some manner of composure. Contrasting that with mine own father who went to great lengths to dismantle the house itself anytime even matters of no consequence didn't meet his expectations, I'd give Ward Cleaver a passing grade in fatherhood just on that fact alone!<br /> <br /> I'm genuinely curious to know if there are particular scenes or episodes that brought you to the conclusion you expressed. If so, please share them so we can explore this a bit more.